"You'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut." - Dr. Seuss

Chapter 3:

A loud knock on his door woke Jun Pyo up from his deep slumber. He tried ignoring it, but the knocking would not stop.

Annoyed, he got up, shuffled half-asleep to the door and looked through the keyhole.

He groaned.

"Go away," he said, then turned to head back to his room.

"Are you still asleep? The day is half over!" A cheery voice called out from the other side.

Just as he reached his bedroom door, the front door opened.

He turned around, scowling. "If you knew my passcode and were going to use it anyway, why the heck did you even knock? You woke me up!"

Jae Kyung flashed her pearly whites at him. "Exactly."

"I should really change my passcode," he muttered, loud enough for her to hear.

"You said that six months ago."

"Well, this time I'm really going to do it!"

"Of course you are," she said, sounding unconvinced.

"Aish," Jun Pyo started walking towards the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water from his fridge and plopped himself on the couch. He twisted the cap open and took several big gulps. Crossing his arms in front of him, he narrowed his eyes at her. "This better be important."

Jae Kyung sat across from him, unbothered by his attitude. "What if I just came over to say hi?" She was used to him being like this.

He glared at her. "You better not have woken me up for nothing!"

"You sleep every day! You only see me a few times a week."

"I like sleep. You, not so much." He stood up. "If that's all, I'm going back to bed."

He passed by his hallway mirror and saw his hair sticking out in every direction. He quickly ran a hand through it, but his hair was unruly and stubborn – just like him.

Jae Kyung sat on the couch quietly observing him.

He yawned, and started walking towards his room. "Lock the door when you leave."

He was almost to his bed when she called out: "I'm flying to Korea in three days."

This stopped him on his tracks. He turned around, and found her standing in the hallway, hands on her hips, long hair tied back in a ponytail, looking very bossy.

"Is that all?" He said, feigning indifference. "Have a good trip." He knew why she was going, but he wasn't about to take the bait.

"I'll be there for 2 weeks." Jae Kyung continued, without missing a beat.

Jun Pyo sighed in frustration. "What's that got to do with me?"

"Don't you think it's time you went for a visit?" Jae Kyung walked slowly towards him.

"Ha." He snorted. "And what, do tell, would I do about work? All my meetings..."

"Gu Jun Pyo, you're on forced leave for three weeks." She smirked. "That's why you've been sleeping all day the last few days."

Gu Jun Pyo scowled at her. "You're way too nosy for your own good."

He'd been forced to take a leave of absence for three weeks as he'd been working non-stop and was driving everyone nuts.

"We're business partners." She reminded him. "I know your schedule."

He exhaled in resignation as he shuffled slowly back to the couch. "What, so you want me to go with you?"

She cocked her head to the side. "I think you should go."

It was all she said, but he got the full meaning behind it.

"And why is that?"

Jae Kyung rolled her eyes. I guess we're playing dumb now, she thought. "Because you miss Korean food?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "We have Korean food in New York."

"Ah, but nothing beats home."

"Get to the point."

Sighing heavily, Jae Kyung sat down beside him. "Look, the wedding is in two months. I wanted to visit them beforehand. You know, to hang out with my friends."

"They're not your friends."

"Well, right now, neither are they yours."

Jun Pyo clutched his head. "You get more and more annoying as the years go by, you know that?"

"You talking to yourself again? Because you're right. You are getting more and more annoying." She gave an exaggerated sigh. "And yet, here I am, still putting up with you."

"I'm not going. That's my final answer."

Jun Pyo was expecting a nasty retort from Jae Kyung, but she stayed silent. She looked at him, as if expecting him to say more.

Aish, this woman drives me crazy.

"I'm not angry anymore, okay?" He explained, although she didn't ask him to. "I'm fine now. I've accepted it. I've moved on."

"Have you really?"

"Are you my psychiatrist now?" He smirked. "Is this going to cost me by the hour?"

She winked at him. "Nah. The first session is free."

Jun Pyo sat there for a few minutes, unsure of what to say. Nothing deters this woman, he thought.

"You want to know what I think?" Jae Kyung's voice broke the few minutes of silence between them.

"No, but I'm pretty sure you're going to tell me anyway."

"I think you're trying to move on, but you can't. You can't because you need some closure. You can't because you keep wondering what it was that went wrong. Because you're terrified of doing the same mistake again." Her voice softened as she continued on. "But you want to move on. You've been trying to move on. And I think to do that, you need to talk to her. You need to see her again, to ask her the questions that have been bothering you all this time. You want to know if you still have feelings for her. And you're angry, yes, but you're angry at yourself. You're angry because a part of you wants to go ahead and talk to her, but your fear and your pride are holding you back."

Jun Pyo was speechless. When did Jae Kyung learn to read minds? Or had he been that transparent? A flush of embarrassment crept up his cheeks.

"Take it from me, Gu Jun Pyo. The more anger towards the past you carry in your heart, the less capable you are of loving in the present." Jae Kyung smiled a sad smile. "In order to move forward, you need to let go of the past."

She walked over to him, squeezed his arm, and left.

One day before Jae Kyung was scheduled to fly to Seoul, Jun Pyo decided to go for a run in Central Park. He'd been cooped up in his penthouse for days (mostly playing video games, watching movies and ordering takeout), so he figured some fresh air should do him some good.

Besides, the housekeeper kept knocking on his door asking if she could clean his suite. One look around his place and Jun Pyo decided it was time to let the housekeeper do her work. He figured he could find something to do for an hour or two while she cleaned.

He looked out his window and saw the park and thought a run would be a great idea. He'd get some fresh air and get a workout at the same time. He'd been dormant for so long his muscles needed some waking up. He also wanted to keep his mind occupied. He did not want to think about what Jae Kyung said.

Speaking of Jae Kyung, he kept waiting for her to text or call, to ask if he changed his mind. To persuade him to go.

Nothing.

Not even her usual, "Good morning, Grumpy!" text message.

It annoyed him more than he'd ever admit to her. Why wasn't she checking up on him like usual? He thought about casually calling her to ask if she was ready for her trip, but decided against it.

Jae Kyung would know why he'd called.

The truth was, he got so used to her texting and bugging him that he kind of... missed it. She was pretty much the only close friend he'd had the last 5 years. In a way, her presence seemed to comfort him.

He ran around Central Park for a couple of hours or so, trying to pass the time. Trying to free his mind of whatever was bugging him. It was refreshing, and he wondered why he didn't do it often enough. Wasn't that the main reason he bought his place near the park? So he could be more active? His job required him to sit through hours of meetings and presentations, so he never got much exercise. It also took him late into the night most of the time, so he never had a chance to go out after.

Maybe this forced vacation thing can be a good thing, he thought, feeling a lot better than he did three hours ago.

On his last lap around, he passed by an Asian couple looking very cuddly on a bench.

The memory of what he'd been trying too hard to forget suddenly rose to the forefront of his mind. He stopped, unable to take his eyes off them.

It wasn't as if he hadn't seen Asian couples around New York before. But this couple seemed to resemble them uncannily well – from the copper colored hair of the pale, good looking guy, and the long dark tresses of the girl.

It was as if he'd been sent a sign.

He forced himself to look away and slowly walk back to his building.

Jae Kyung was right, and he knew it.

He needed closure. A part of him saw it coming – he knew there was a chance Jan Di would fall for Ji Hoo. Didn't he keep pushing them together? Wasn't he the one who kept asking him to go to her?

But a part of him was confident too. They'd been through a lot. They'd survived so much. And just when they were free to love each other, that's when they drifted apart. Was it just the conflict that drew them together?

What went wrong?

Did he still have feelings for her?

He wasn't sure how he felt anymore. He wouldn't know until he saw her again.

He arrived back at his penthouse, soaked in sweat, head about to explode. He took a long drink of water and then flopped on the couch. He threw his head back and closed his eyes.

He could either ask himself the same questions every day for years and years to come, or he could just get it over with.

He sighed heavily.

He had to talk to her. He had to see her. For one last time.

He had to know.

And besides, he needed to make sure Jae Kyung stayed out of trouble in Korea. That girl could find trouble in a monastery. Never mind the fact that she has private security trailing her all the time, she needed someone like him to keep her in check.

He didn't know how long he sat there like that until a knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.

Ah, so she came here anyway. I knew she couldn't stay away that long.

A smile spread slowly on his face. Maybe he would pretend to be asleep again and let her knock a few times until she let herself in.

Came to say goodbye, didn't you?

The knocking continued on longer than Jun Pyo had the patience for.

"You know my passcode. Stop knocking!" He called out, eyes still closed.

"Mister Jun Pyo?" A small voice called out behind the door.

Jun Pyo opened his eyes and sat up.

Wait, that's not Jae Kyung.

He walked slowly to the door and opened it.

Mister Rogers, their building's security guard, stood on the other side holding a small brown envelope.

"Yes?" He asked the old security guard. He looked to the left and right of the hallway to see if Jae Kyung was hiding somewhere.

"I'm very sorry to bother you, Mister Gu Jun Pyo. But Miss Jae Kyung left this for you the other day. She said to give it to you today at 5 pm." Mister Rogers handed him the envelope, bowed his head a little, and then left.

Jun Pyo walked back towards his couch, puzzled. He opened the envelope and couldn't help but smile.

Inside the envelope was a first-class ticket to Korea for tomorrow's flight.

Jae Kyung had left a note scrawled with her neat handwriting:

"Hey Grumpy!

You're sitting right behind me.

Don't be late."